"Run-of-the-mill", never!

Better Half surprised me with a new camera Friday evening.  He hid my camera and bag, and in its place, put one of the boxes that held some of the camera accessories.

I fear I ruined his surprise.  I was in a hurry to grab my camera and go. It was my nephew's prom night.  I couldn't find my camera.  I didn't even see the box in the closet.  All I saw - MY CAMERA WAS NOT IN THE CLOSET WHERE I ALWAYS PUT IT and I WAS GOING TO MISS MY NEPHEW'S PROM. 

You see, this isn't just any run-of-the-mill nephew we're talking about.   I was in the room when this nephew was born, helping his mom through labor.  I love this nephew like he is my own son.  Birthdays, science projects, algebra problems, swimming, camping and fishing, Halloween - we have shared so much life these past 17 years. We are very good friends.  There is not much I wouldn't do for this great kid.

So, understandably, when I thought I was going to miss taking photos of his special evening, I grew, shall I say, a bit irritated.   Out walks Better Half with my camera bag, telling me I had left it in the bedroom.  More than a little weird.  But, I was in a hurry.  I didn't care.  I was going to miss the whole thing.

Only later did I realize that I had seen a box where my camera should have been.  Better Half's strange actions then began to make sense.  I raced back home, grabbed the box, and the gig was up.  What a fabulous unexpected surprise!  Better Half, too, is not just any run-of-the-mill husband. 

I'm not sure I will ever live up to this camera.  It is "the cat's meow" and then a whole lot more.

I spent the weekend doing some heavy duty reading.  The instruction manual for the camera alone is 326 pages.  The lens manual is another 50 pages.  I'm all the way up to page 56 of the first manual.  I couldn't stand it any longer. . . I had to try it out . . .  even if I don't know entirely what I'm doing.

I think this will be an enjoyable journey, once I get the hang of it.  I feel like a baby taking her first steps . . . like a wobbly five year old on a two-wheeled bicycle for the first time. 

This is a celadon poppy - a simple native wildflower that thrives on shady hillsides.

This is my favorite tree on the North Forty.
 It is a lacy Japanese maple tree with its own
survival story I'll tell you about some day.

One of the iris varieties that graces the spring pond.  It is somewhere between lavender and
light blue. However, look to the left.  I managed to catch some tiny insect in flight. 

An old rhododendron that stands guard near the back porch.

Another of the irises that make its home around the pond. 

A quite unremarkable ground cover, save for the lovely purple pinwheel like blooms.

Cornus kousa - a type of dogwood, refreshed by the spring rain.